Bookbinding



J. C. DAWSON.

.BOOKBlNDING.

APPLICATION FILED IAN .H,,I920.

1,410,000. Patented Mar. 21, 1922,

Inwfem fig/ 611115021 JAMES C. DAWSON, 0F WEBSTER GROVES, MISSOURI- BOOKBINDING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentedltlan21, 1922.

Application filed January 17, 1920. fierial No. 852,078

To all whom it may comem:

Be it known that I, JAMES C. Dawson, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Webster Groves, county of St. Louis, and State of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Bookbinding of which the following is a specification, an which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The invention relates to book binding and has for its object to provide a simple and effective but inexpensive permanent binding for loose sheets. The practice of kee ing records upon loose sheets which are he d in a file or other form of loose leaf binder, during the current use of the records, renders it desirable to provide a suitable means for binding the sheets into a permanent volume when the file or binder has been filled and but little or no further use of the sheets is anticipated although it is necessary to pre serve the sheets for the purpose of retaining a permanent record.

As the services of a skilled book binder will not usuall be available for binding the sheets, whi e a mere orderly preservation of the sheets is the result which is principally sought, simplicity of operation and inexpensive construction are of great importance. On the otherhand, for the purpose of limitin the amount of storage space required for t e finished volume, it is of equal importance torprovide a smooth exterior surface. The invention accordingly contemplates a construction which affords a finished volume without objectionable projections and which, though comprising only the most inexpensive materials available, may be effectively used b oflice employees of ordinary training and s ill. I

In the accompanying drawin s:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view s owing a finished volume embodying the features of improvements provided by. the invention, a part of the back being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 2-2 on Fig. 1;

ig. 3 is a detail view showing one of the covers before the introduction of the binding element; and

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 1 but shows a modified form of construction.

In carrying out the invention a quantity of sheets to be preserved are collected together to form a stack 10. Covers, as 11 and 12, are thenapplie'd tolthe-stack 10 upon opposite sides of the same. a The covers may be secured to the sheets in a variety of ways twosuitablemethodsbeing re ectively illustratedin Figs. -1 and 2 an in 4. In the method-shown in Fig. 1, a wire staple 13'is inserted through the covers and the sheets therebetween and its ends 14 subsequently turned over or clenched. In the method shown in Fig. 4 a cord 15 is passed through the covers and the sheets and knotted at 19.

To make the binding means less obstructive and to facilitate the handling and stacking of the completed volumes, the covers are recessed to receive those parts of the wire, cord, or other fastening which would otherwise project above the outer faces of the covers. This is particularly advantageous where clenched wire is used as the binding means, since the ends are liable to catch on external objects unless protected by being located in recesses in the covers. As a convenient method of providing the necessar recesses and also reinforcement for the binders board of which the covers are usually made, metallic plates 16 may be employed. These plates are depressed centrally to form a groove 17 for the reception of the clenched ends 14 of the wire, or the cord 15 and knot 19 therein, as the case may be. The covers are recessed or preferably slotted at 21, as shown, to receive the depressed portion of the plates. In the forms of construction shown, the plates 16 are provided with apertures 18 at each end for the passage of the wire, cord, or other fastening device.

The plates 16 ma be permanently attached to the covers y any suitable means, as by tongues 20, formed and utilized by being struck out and bent downwardly into locking engagement with the covers. The covers 11 and 12 are preferably made separate, not only to simplify and cheapen' the construction but also to enable the covers to be more readily applied to stacks of sheets of different heigh After the covers have been secured in place a back 22 is a plied not only to protect the rear edges 0 the stack of sheets, but also to cover the exposed portions of the binding wire or cords. The particular form of this back constitutes no part of the present invention. To promote simplicity of illustration, that shown comprises a strip of stifl material, such as heavy paper. This strip may be secured in place by pasting the end portions of the strip against the corresponding covers upon the outside of the same.

I claim as my inventiona In a book, in combination, a stack of punched sheets having two sets of registerin apertures, a slotted cover applied to one 10 si e of the steel: of sheets, a sheet metal late ap lied to the cover over the slot, an interme iate part of the plate being depressed and lying in the slot, forming a groove and having apertures registering with the sheet apertures, and a binding member extending throu h the sheet a ertures and through the sai sheet metal p ate and lying in the said groove.

JAMES C. DAWSON. 

